I pointed at it and mouthed, “So cute!”
At long last Wolf said to us, “The phone appears to have come to a stop. They’re on foot, searching for Abby.”
He continued holding the phone to his ear. Suddenly, he said, “I’ll meet you there.”
Wesley rose to his feet. “They found her?”
Wolf rubbed his neck like he was tired. “I wouldn’t get too excited yet. I’ll give you a call when I know more.”
While the others talked, I slipped away and walked to the door with Wolf.
“Wesley seems very agitated,” I whispered.
“I noticed that.”
“Is he involved?” I asked.
Mars shot me a look. “Like I would tell you? Sophie, I don’t know much more than you do yet. All I can say is that we’re running down all the leads we have, hoping we can start to make sense out of this.”
He opened the door and marched into the midst of reporters shouting questions. I closed the door behind him and locked it. No point in taking a chance that one of them would try to sneak inside.
When I returned to the family room, Tilly was saying, “I’ve been bugging Wesley about getting outdoor cameras. The kind that are set off by motion sensors. I’ve been anxious since they found that woman in the freezer. And then people started gawking at our door. The girls can barely come and go. You’d think they would leave them alone!”
“Why don’t you have the girls use the alley?” asked Mars. “I doubt that’s staked out yet.”
Tilly looked at her husband. “I wish we could go away until this blows over.”
Jericho, still in the shadows, was quite obviously shaking his head in the negative.
Wesley frowned at his wife. “I’d say we should take a family vacation just to get out of town, but if we do that they’ll probably follow us and claim that it’s a sign of guilt.”
“Or that you’re enjoying yourselves when Abby is on the run and an unidentified woman is in the freezer. Also a very bad image,” said Mars.
“Can’t we stop this?” asked Wesley. “There has to be a way to get this under control.”
“Maybe it will calm down when they find Abby,” said Mars.
I wondered if that was true. If Wesley had played a role in whatever happened, then finding Abby could be the beginning of the end for him. For the first time I wondered if Abby could be hiding from Wesley. “Where is Briley now?” I asked.
“Upstairs doing homework. Tomorrow is a school day. While I truly hope they find Abby, I hope we won’t be up all night again.” Tilly collected empty mugs and carried them to the sink.
“We should go,” I said to Mars. “Would you mind if we left through the alley?”
I could swear Wesley looked panicked. The self-assured smooth-talking politician had lost his confidence. He gazed at Mars and asked, “You’ll call us if you hear anything?”
“I will.” Mars nodded solemnly.
“Even in the middle of the night,” Wesley pressed.
Mars placed his hand on Wesley’s shoulder. “You don’t have anything to worry about. Try to get some sleep.”
The clattering of rapid footsteps on the stairs drew our attention. A moment later, Briley burst into the room. “The woman in the freezer is Schuyler’s mom!”
Chapter 16
Dear Sophie,
I’m headed south for the winter, but I don’t want to throw away all the food in my fridge. Can I freeze butter, heavy cream, and cucumbers?
Frozen Grandma in Hazard, Nebraska
Dear Frozen Grandma,
Butter freezes surprisingly well. Unfortunately, most other dairy products, including cream, are not good choices for the freezer. Alas, neither are cucumbers or other high water-content vegetables. May I suggest pickling the cucumbers?
Sophie
I glanced at the television. There was no breaking news. “How do you know that?”
“Schuyler’s dad had to go identify the body. He just broke it to her. She texted me.” Briley held up her phone as though that proved what she was saying.
“Mia? I was afraid of that.” Tilly sank into a chair. “Oh, Briley! Schuyler must be devastated.”
Wesley grasped the back of Tilly’s chair. “I’m having trouble computing this. Abby murdered Mia? What was Mia doing at Abby’s house in the first place? Were they friends?”
“Honey,” said Tilly in a soothing tone, “I’m sure they met over here. But I wasn’t aware that they socialized outside of our house.”
“Clearly, they must have,” he grumbled.
“The good news,” said Jericho, “is that they’ll probably take Abby into custody tonight and this nightmare will be over.”
“Not for Schuyler,” murmured Tilly. “Do you want to go over to see her, Briley? You can stay home from school tomorrow to be with Schuyler if you want.”
Briley was solemn. “I’d like that. What do I say to her?”
“Honey, let her do the talking. You be a good friend by listening. I’ll go with you. Maybe Schuyler’s dad needs help with something. Wesley, you should listen to Mars. You haven’t slept since they opened that freezer. Maybe you should take a sleeping pill tonight.”
Wesley said, “No sleeping pills for me, Tilly. I have to keep my wits about me.”
“I’ll be back soon.” Tilly rose and wrapped an arm around Briley’s shoulders. Together they walked out toward the alley.
Wesley fidgeted as if he wasn’t sure what to do.
“I’m sorry it was Mia,” I said. “Is there anything we can do for you?”
“Thank you, Sophie. I think perhaps Jericho is correct. If they bring in Abby, then I’ll be okay.”
Mars was already outside, eager to leave. “The coast is clear,” he hissed. He had opened the door in the brick wall surrounding their garden and held it for me.
I stepped through and into darkness.
We walked along the alley without speaking. It wasn’t until we were safely a block away from Wesley and Tilly’s house that I said, “Your client is falling apart.”
Mars nodded. “I didn’t expect it of him. Then again, I never expected anything like this to happen. What did Wolf tell you? I noticed that you slipped away to get the scoop from him.”
“Not much. Sounds like they’re as confused as everyone else.”
“Did he mention Wesley?”
“Nope. Are you worried about him? Do you think he’s involved in this mess?”
“I don’t know. I get that he liked Abby as a person and the situation is distressing. But he’s far more upset than I would have expected.” Mars glanced at me. “This is hush-hush. Got it? Don’t even mention it to Nina.”
“Okay.”
“The guy named Jericho who was there tonight is bad news. Wesley insists he came highly recommended, and I believe that. Jericho is like a political bloodhound. He can smell trouble a mile away.”
“Why is that a secret? What politician wouldn’t want a guy with that kind of talent around?” I asked.
“He can’t be trusted.”